Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Paper cut-out patterns

Just cut out a square or rectangle of colored paper. About 3-5" long/wide works best. Doodle a design on it that starts and finishes on one side. Let your mind go wild. I have a tendency to over-think things sometimes. By that, I mean I get very caught up in planning something, and trying to control it. This process is one I use to get over that. It’s just a cheap square of paper, right? Jump in and start doodling and cutting. Then use very sharp paper scissors and cut it out.

After you’ve cut out the shape, glue both the positive and negative shapes down in your sketchbook next to each other (like I did in the examples above and below).

If you need a jumpstart, think about something you can see around you, and use that as inspiration.

Here are paper cuts inspired by…

dogwood buds:

An ear:

Eyes:

A vine:

The letter S:

A mustache:

Organs:

Palm tree:

Peapod:

Ribbons:

Rolls:

A square spiral:

A leaf:

A wave:

A piano keyboard:

Now, if you want to make things more complex, repeat it. You can either scan it in and manipulate it in a software program like Photoshop, or you can cut out multiple pieces of paper the same way, using your first one as a template for the others. Here’s the pattern I got when I repeated my “piano” cutout:

This is a great idea and it seems no matter what the shape it will look pretty cool placed next to its' negative. I thought your found quilt patterns on your blog would be excellent to share here too. Thank you.www,julie-annemcdonald.com

For those interested in further study, this technique is called notan and is documented in the classic book Notan:The Dark-Light Principle of Design by Dorr Bothwell and Marlys Mayfield published by Dover. Google notan and you will find a plethra of sites both defining and utilizing this principle in many art media.